“Breakfast isn’t necessary. But you can have that bimbo bring coffee. That would be fine.”
“Grammy, what has gotten into you?”
I stared at her in disbelief.
She looked at me without hesitation. “I’ll take cream and sugar.”
I exhaled. I had no idea what was going on. I walked to the door. “Candy, could you order my latte and a coffee for my grandmother, please?”
I closed the door again. It was a few minutes before Candy entered with a coffee cart. I looked at her. I’d never seen it before.
“I ordered it for occasions like this. I hope that’s ok.”
“Of course.” I smiled. “It’s perfect actually.”
“That’s enough,” Grammy snapped. “We are having a meeting.”
I mouthed an apology to Candy as she backed out of the office.
“Grammy, really. What is going on? You’re never like this.”
She stirred in creamer and sugar into the china cup.
“You didn’t come home last night, Nessa.”
I was a grown woman. It wasn’t like I hadn’t spent nights out. I’d gone to college. I’d traveled Europe.
“I didn’t realize you were worried.” I tried to spin the situation. “I’m sorry if I kept you up.”
“It doesn’t matter.” She waved her hand. “I can only guess what had you out.”
I bit my tongue. I didn’t have to defend my adult lifestyle. I had no regrets about my decisions, and last night was no different. It had changed my life.
“I brought you a gift.” She nodded toward the floor.
There was a black safe next to my desk.
“What is that?” I peered at it. How had she hauled that thing in here?
“Call it a gift from the grave.”
I placed my latte on the edge of the desk and walked around the side, stooping to my knees. There was a passcode on the front. I looked at her.
“7-9-5-8. Your father’s birthday.”
“Oh.” I punched in the numbers and the safe unlocked. I lifted the lid. I stared at files of papers. It looked like a banker’s box of notes.
“What is this?” I picked up the one on top, reading the name: Luke Canton. “Why do you have a file on our quarterback?”
She brought the cup to her lips. “I do not have a file on Luke Canton. Those were your grandfather’s.”
I returned to my seat with the folder. I would have to listen to her entire explanation. Trying to pull bits and pieces out of her wasn’t working.
“Did Granddad leave these for me?”
“He probably didn’t expect you to ever see them, but since you are the new owner of the Warriors, I suppose so.”
I flipped open the top leaf of the file. There were articles. Pictures. And a copy of a check. I read the attached memo.
“Granddad paid off a woman who accused Luke Canton of getting her pregnant?” I was shocked.
She huffed. “That’s what it says.”
“You don’t know?”
She lowered the coffee to the desk. “There’s a file on every single man on the team in that safe,” she answered.
“But Luke is married to Lexi. They have a baby. This is damaging. Ludicrous.”
She closed her eyes, opening them again slowly. “I looked at the dates. It seemed to coincide with when he started dating Lexi. There is also a copy of an invoice from Charlie Maine. She came in and handled the situation according to the notes.”
I closed the file. I didn’t want to know what else was in it. But I was relieved Luke hadn’t cheated. I could only imagine the implications. And I hated to think what it would do to his young family.
“Why did you bring this to me?”
“There’s a file on Dylan James in there. Your dear fiancé. All of them. They have secrets. This entire team is built on secrets and lies.” She pinched her red lips together.
I didn’t know whether to dig through the safe looking for Dylan’s and Isaac’s files so I could keep them safe, or find them so I could read every detail. But I heard the hurt tone in her voice.
“You didn’t know?” I whispered. “You didn’t know this safe existed, did you?”
“I’m learning there are a lot of secrets in this family.” Her voice was monotone.
I had a deep and sudden pit of guilt in my stomach. I was one of them.
“But Grammy, I’m sure he just didn’t want to involve you in team problems. There’s nothing good in these files.”
“Is that how you think your marriage will work? You are ok with years of lies between you? You think it’s ok for a husband to hide things from his wife in a vault? Tell me, Nessa. Are you ok with Dylan keeping secrets? Having another life? Maybe another family?”
“Another what? What are you talking about?” I was buzzing. I’d never seen her like this. Everything about this conversation was out of context. The anger started to make more sense now. As she was going through Granddad’s things she was learning new information—information she didn’t like.
I had too. Like how cheap he was with the team. How he treated the players. How everyone in this building had practically hated him. It wasn’t easy to stomach.
“I thought you needed the safe. And I think you need to bring Charlie Maine in. I like that girl, even if she did keep secrets from me. Steve is a weasel. She’ll know what to do with it. Give her the safe and ask her.”
Grammy pushed back from the desk. I was bewildered.
“I don’t understand. You haven’t even finished your coffee. Grammy, don’t go like this. We could still spend the morning together.”
I shouldn’t have missed our time together last night. She was feeling lonely and neglected. I had compounded that by making her feel unimportant. It didn’t help that Steve’s press conference was the way she discovered my engagement. I could only imagine how that must have made her feel with the revelation of the safe.
“I’m so sorry I missed last night. Truly. Please stay and talk to me.”
“I have more business to attend to, dear.” She reached up on her tiptoes to kiss me.
I offered my cheek like I always did.
“Is it something I can help you with?” I asked. “Is it at the attorney’s office. I’ll ride with you.”
She stopped at the door. “No. I don’t need your help with this, Nessa. I think I may have found your brother.”
With that she snapped the lock in place and was gone.
I stared at the closed door.
What in the hell was going on?
Twenty-Seven
Vanessa
She couldn’t be serious. Why was Grammy tracking down my brother? Why did it suddenly matter where he was?
I pressed the button on the intercom and called Candy.
“Can you come in here please?”
I was wrapped in a cloud of my grandmother’s perfume.
“Sure.”
Two seconds later, Candy walked in. “Everything ok?” she asked.
“Not really.” I wasn’t going to drag her into the family saga. “I need to have a meeting with Charlie Maine, but not here.”
“Ok?” She looked confused. She tucked the ends of her short hair behind her ear.
“Could you set up a meeting for us away from the office? Maybe downtown?”
“Downtown?”
“Yes, downtown. Somewhere where there is music. There are tons of those places on Sixth Street, right? No sports bars,” I instructed. It was important we weren’t seen in the regular Warriors’ circles.
“Ok got it, boss. I’m on it.”
“Good. Please don’t mention it to anyone in the office. I need this meeting to stay confidential.” If Steve heard about this, I knew he would panic.
“I’m good with secrets.” She smiled like a cat.
Secret seemed to be the word of the day.
The band on stage announced they had written the next three songs. My table was in the corner, out of view from anyone passing
by on the sidewalk. I sipped my iced tea, waiting for Charlie Maine to arrive. I knew how lucky I was she had been available today. I didn’t know how there wasn’t another scandal somewhere in the AFA for her to clean up.
But we did have an advantage. She was engaged to Luke Canton’s brother, Linc, and that meant her home base was still Austin. I had a meeting with Linc on my schedule for tomorrow. I assumed it was to discuss Luke’s next steps with the Warriors. He managed his brothers deals and contracts. Part of me was envious they had a functioning sibling relationship. It certainly wasn’t something I could claim.
I didn’t know why Grammy was determined to track down Danny. I couldn’t get it out of my head. It wasn’t the only time she had mentioned it.
He wasn’t going to reappear and suddenly swoop in and become the family patriarch. We didn’t have one of those anymore.
When we were kids he was the biggest Warrior fan in the family. He had every card, game ball, hat, jersey. You named it—Danny had it. His room was a bigger shrine to the team than my grandfather’s office.
I don’t know when that changed for him. When he stopped loving the team. Stopped loving football. Stopped loving his family. Grammy needed to give up this crusade—he wasn’t coming back. Eight years away from Texas wasn’t a temporary trip. He had moved on. We needed to do the same.
I looked up when I saw Charlie enter the bar. She wore a fitted skirt that came just above her knee in a deep purple. I realized it was a leather material. She showed off her arms in a sleeveless silk blouse.
“Vanessa.” She smiled, sliding into the café chair across from me. “I was surprised to get your message.”
“Thanks for meeting with me so quickly. Would you like to order something?”
She shook her head. “I have about fifteen minutes. What do you need?”
Charlie had a reputation for being work-driven. She didn’t spend time with chit-chat or condolences. It was what made her successful. She could see through the bullshit.
“I received some information this morning. And I’d like to hire you to help me with it.”
“Like you did to roll out your engagement?” She eyed me.
I swallowed. I wasn’t like Charlie. I needed time to warm up. To exchange a few pleasantries. I never started with punches first.
I glanced at the ring on my left hand. I had slipped it on before leaving Isaac’s this morning.
“It’s mostly convincing. Not entirely, but mostly.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but Charlie stopped me. “It was a play right out of my handbook. Steve’s been studying my solutions for several years now. I’m not completely surprised he stole one of them.”
“But—you’ve done that before?”
She nodded. “I’m most proud of Luke and Lexi.”
“But, they’re married. It doesn’t get any more real than that relationship.”
“Do you think they started out that way? He was a hot-headed asshole. Your grandfather hired me to clean up his train wreck of an image.”
“Wow.” I had no idea the secrets had run so deep.
“Don’t get me wrong, he’s about to become my brother-in-law. I love him, but he can be a dick.” I locked in on her ring. It was gorgeous. Linc had chosen it himself and probably proposed in some sort of romantic setting.
Unlike the rock of lies on my hand, hers meant a promise for the future. Dylan had every right to walk away as soon as the season ended. I wasn’t actually going to hold him to a wedding. That was ludicrous. I wasn’t naïve enough to think a man like that would want more. Besides, we had an understanding. An arrangement that worked for the season. I couldn’t ruin that by expecting commitment.
“Well, this isn’t about my engagement.” I paused. “Well, maybe it is a little bit.”
Charlie pressed her red lips together. “Come on, Vanessa. If you need my help put it out there. What’s the scandal this time. Which Warrior got drunk and had a three-way? Who has the pictures?”
“What?” My voice squeaked. My palms were sticky.
“Figure of speech. What’s the scandal?”
Once my heart returned to its regular pace, I could answer her. “Honestly, I don’t know. I have an entire safe of them.”
“What does that mean?” She cocked her head sideways.
“I didn’t know who else to call. I couldn’t take this in-house. My grandfather kept files on the players. On the staff. Everyone in the organization. I ended up with the safe this morning containing all the dirt he had on them. I don’t know what to do with it.”
She sighed. “Shit.”
“It’s bad, isn’t it?”
“Do you know if there are copies of the files?”
“I have no idea. This is the first I knew of it.”
Charlie drilled her long polished nails along the table. The band behind us announced they were taking a break. Their set was over for the lunch crowd.
“If you want to hire me, Vanessa, I’m going to need to see what’s in there. And that includes the shit on your fiancé.”
I nodded. I hadn’t brought myself to read through it yet. I was praying I wouldn’t have to. Maybe Charlie could spare me from it. I knew Dylan’s reputation. He never shied from it. He loved to party. He loved women. And there was no question he loved sex.
“How should I get it to you?” I asked.
“I can come to the compound later tonight. Does that work?”
“Sure. I’ll be there. Just tell George at the gate.”
“Got it.” She rose from the table. “I’ll see you tonight.”
I watched as she walked out the door. She might be the only chance I had of getting on top of the scandals.
Twenty-Eight
Vanessa
I had every intention of going back to the office after my meeting with Charlie, but I couldn’t face the staff, or the players.
I drove through the main gates of the McCade compound and wound around to the back of the property.
Zeus was waiting for me at the door.
“Hey, boy.” I scratched behind his ears. It was close to a hundred degrees. Not necessarily the best time to play ball, but I let him outside to give him a chance to run around.
I walked to the kitchen and opened the fridge. I needed a glass of chilled white wine. I closed my eyes, feeling the cold air wash over me. My skin was hot.
The wine glugged as I poured it into the tall crystal. I pulled open the French doors and stepped onto the patio. I had a reflecting pool that paralleled the length of the living room and kitchen. I turned on the overhead misters and planted myself in the shade.
The cold wine seemed to cool me from the inside out, while the frosty mist coated my skin. This felt amazing.
I laughed out loud when Zeus ran toward me, but jumped in the pool instead. I couldn’t blame him. It was Texas hot out here. The kind of heat that made grown men melt.
Shit. My men were out there in this heat. They had afternoon practice. Isaac had mentioned there were a list of complaints. At the top of the list, under money, was an indoor practice facility. The Warriors were the only team in the league who didn’t have one. Living and playing in Texas made that criminal.
I watched Zeus make laps in the pool, trying to snatch his tennis ball as it bobbed under the water and then resurfaced in a jerky pop. It didn’t look like he was climbing out any time soon. I wandered back inside, keeping the door cracked for him.
I refilled my glass, feeling the wine start to soothe me. Being in that bar today and listening to the singers talk about their song writing, their passion, reminded me I had neglected mine. I hadn’t made time for it.
I took the stairs, feeling the irresistible draw to my studio. My fingers were itching. Tingling almost.
The corner room upstairs was filled with natural light. I had a special thermostat installed to keep the room at an ideal temperature for my paints and the canvases.
Even with the sunlight streaming in, it didn’t feel like summer. I
t was like early spring. Cool and bright.
I moved from easel to easel. This was all I wanted to do. I wanted to paint. It was what I was trained in. I had studied in Paris and Rome. I had traveled Europe with my grandparents’ blessing because it was what their country club friend’s grandchildren did. To them it seemed young and bohemian. They didn’t take stock in how much I needed the culture and history of Europe in my art.
My own practice was a combination of all those experiences. Watching great painters. Spending nights staying up all night talking about art. And yes, some of those were incredible romances. Artists that took me to bed. Some who vowed to paint me first, but ended up painting me the morning after. I smiled, picking up a brush.
My life was on display in my strokes, but you had to know me. Know my soul to see it. I doubted anyone who looked at my work knew what was in front of them.
I positioned myself on a stool and dabbed the edge of the bristles into the blue water color paint. I brushed it on the easel, focusing on the edges the blue made as it came in contact with the paper. Everything changed when those two things came together.
The colors blurred and faded. The blues were hazier and yet more vibrant. I dipped the brush again, making another line.
I felt a part of me start to awaken. A part of me that had been sleeping ever since I was no longer McCade heiress and had become Warriors owner. I could never go back to the girl who locked herself in the studio for hours or wandered from museum to museum. From now on, I owned a team. And I was in the heart of the AFA.
At some point, the sun started to set. The hues in the room changed to orange and pink. My wine glass was empty, but I kept painting. Zeus had found me and was a sleeping wet mop in the corner on his bed.
“Vanessa? Darlin’?”
“George said she was here.”
I heard Isaac and Dylan’s voices, followed by their footsteps.
“Holy shit.” They stopped in the doorway.
I looked up. “Hi.” I smiled meekly.
“Baby, what are you doing up here?”
I rubbed my shoulder. I had a kink in my neck from sitting in the same position for hours. I hadn’t stopped for a single break.
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